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Nov. 5 — The
previously confidential text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
trade agreement was released Nov. 5 by the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative along with annexes, related instruments and the
outcomes of the U.S.-Japan bilateral negotiations.

The agreement among the U.S. and 11 other Pacific
Rim countries comprises 30 chapters covering traditional trade
areas, such as market access, rules of origin and customs
administration, as well as new areas, such as the chapter on
“state-owned enterprises and designated monopolies” and another
chapter on small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The agreement was concluded Oct. 5 in Atlanta,
following more than five years of negotiations, at an extended
meeting of the trade ministers from the TPP countries (193 ITD,
10/6/15).

The document release includes two annexes covering
country-specific exceptions, known as “non-conforming measures” in
the language of trade agreements, as well as annexes on financial
services and state-owned enterprises. The exceptions generally
grant countries narrow areas where they can refrain from upholding
the trade-liberalizing commitments in the agreement.

The related instruments are primarily bilateral
letter exchanges concerning a given chapter, but there are also
numerous side agreements or “understandings” concerning the
environmental provisions and an annex on “Transparency and
Procedural Fairness for Pharmaceutical Products and Medical
Devices” made up of separate bilateral texts between the U.S. and
three other TPP members—Australia, Japan and Peru.

The bilateral U.S.-Japan outcomes text includes the
results of the closely watched talks on vehicle trade focusing on
non-tariff measures, as well as non-tariff measures covering
numerous other areas, such as insurance, express delivery and
investment.

“The ultimate decision as to whether the United
States leads on trade remains with America's elected
representatives, and we'll continue to work closely with Congress
and all stakeholders to ensure this agreement can begin delivering
on its promise as soon as possible,” U.S. Trade Representative
Michael Froman said in a Nov. 5 statement coinciding with the TPP
release.

Reviews Under Way

New Zealand, which is the depository of TPP
documents, said the TPP text will continue to undergo legal review
and will be translated into French and Spanish language versions
prior to signature by the TPP leaders. Auckland said that “in
coming days” it will also release a legal summary of the
agreement.

President Barack Obama Nov. 5—as required under
trade promotion authority (TPA) rules—gave Congress 90-day notice
of his intention to sign the TPP, giving lawmakers time to review
the deal prior to the signing ceremony, which would take place in
February at the earliest.

“This review process enables Congress to carefully
scrutinize the agreement before it is signed, and if necessary,
recommend changes to the agreement,” Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a statement. “I look forward
to working with my Senate colleagues and stakeholders throughout
this process to determine whether this TPP agreement meets the
high-standards set by TPA and whether it should be enacted into
law.”

In related news, the U.S. Treasury Department and
the finance ministries of the other TPP countries issued a joint
declaration on currency and foreign exchange practices. The “Joint
Declaration of the Macroeconomic Policy Authorities of
Trans-Pacific Partnership Countries” is the first attempt to
address unfair currency practices in a trade agreement by promoting
transparency and accountability, the department said.

Democrats Plan Public Hearings

Numerous lawmakers issued statements on the TPP
release, but Sander Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Ways and
Means Committee, said in an Nov. 5 statement that Democrats on that
panel would have public hearings on the agreement.

“Ways and Means Democrats are taking the lead and
setting up hearings and forums to review the merits, and the impact
of each of the key issues,” Levin said, referring to a series of
in-depth public hearings to assess the merits of issues such as
automotive and agricultural market access, rules of origin and
competition policy for state-owned enterprises in the proposed
agreement.

In a conference call with reporters, a Ways and
Means Committee aide identified other issues of concern as: whether
the environment chapter meets the standards set in May 2007
Bipartisan Agreement on Trade; Mexican compliance with the labor
chapter; transition periods for pharmaceutical intellectual
property rights protections, notably with regard to Peru; and an
exception for Malaysia regarding foreign investment that would
allow denials on the basis of national security.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Ways and
Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) also issued statements on
their intention to carefully review the TPP text, with the
committee chairman pledging to give the administration the
opportunity to answer all questions and address concerns before his
committee votes on the trade pact.

“I continue to reserve judgment on the path ahead,”
Ryan said. “But I remain hopeful that our negotiators reached an
agreement that the House can support because a successful TPP would
mean more good jobs for American workers and greater U.S. influence
in the world.”

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.) promised in a statement to dig into the details of the
TPP, adding that he “fought hard” to make to ensure that the TPP
was make public for citizens to read months before the president
signs it, and even longer before Congress votes on the
agreement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Len Bracken
in Washington at lbracken@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jerome Ashton at jashton@bna.com

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